So by now we're in our routine. I'm up and about at around 9 am and start the day with a yummy coffee from the machine in the apartment and catch up on the news. The television is a nice flat screen but the selection of channels leaves a lot to be desired as there are only a few channels in English, mostly Dutch to choose from. The Mrs. doesn't rise until usually around noon so my morning routine includes a walk across the canal to the GH Centrum for a cappuccino and a bag or 2 or 3 from their volcano. Bought a nice bud of their Silver Haze. What a lovely way to start the day!

By now the Mrs. had risen and at around 1 pm we're off to begin our daily adventure. We only walk, never rent a bike or a car as we never seem to be in a big hurry and since we are drinking pretty high ABV brews all day, we feel safer on foot. The weather was great, especially for early December with sunshine and high in the mid 40's.

We head down the Rokin past the Rembradtplein and over to Utrechtsestraat with our first stop of the day at a Haring Stand that also sells maybe the best oysters that I have ever tasted. We first discovered these during our visit the year before and were delighted that they were still selling them. Salty and the perfect size and tasted like they were caught that morning.

That makes us thirsty so we go down the straat another block and stop in another of our favorite spots, Cafe Onder de Ooievaar. They have a great beer selection and always have one or two from the IJ brewery on tap. Today it was the Ijndejaars which we were pleased to see this early in December as it usually is not brewed until closer to New Years. Its a dark strong ale and at 9% we need a bit more to eat to start the day with this one! So I get a bowl of their pea soup served with black bread and the Mrs. a bowl of sweet potato soup with a baggette. Just delicious as always. This café is actually known for its burgers but we still have not tried one since we're normally here for lunch and the 1/2 lb. burger is a bit too much to eat that early in the day, especially since we have to leave room for the beers!

Now we're ready for a nice walk so we head out to Albert Cuypstraat for some shopping. I recently heard that this is the largest outdoors market in the world which kind of surprised me. Its definitely a large one at several blocks long but I just imagined that there would be bigger ones somewhere in Asia or the Middle East. Anyways, we really enjoy shopping here as Mrs. Thai always seems to find some great bargains and clothes that perfectly fit her small frame. And another great thing about this market is that another couple of our favorite places are very close by.

So first we stop in at the Katsu which might be my favorite coffeeshop that's still open in the city. They have top of the line gear and a great water vaporizer that always does the trick for me. Tried their Blueberry which I have found can definitely vary from shop to shop. It was excellent and I'm sure the monster vaporizer probably had something to do with it!

The other place that's close by is of course another beer bar, the Gollem 2. Quite different from the original Gollem near the Spui but always a very comfortable bar to stop at with a great selection. Comfort was definitely a plus as I was still feeling the effects of our last stop at the Katsu. We were actually very surprised to see that they had Gulden Draak on tap which had earned a healthy respect from me before and that was out of a bottle. At 10.5% this Belgian strong dark ale will kick yer arse if you're not careful!1 So the Mrs. and I decided to share a glass of this. So yummy we each wound up ordering another so look out below! The bar had just adopted a very cute and friendly kitten who was glued to Mrs. Thai's lap the entire time so we really were in no hurry to leave. The place started to fill up as it was getting close to 7 pm so the kitty became distracted and decided to explore and check out the bags of the new arrivals and it was also time for us to continue our journey.

The lights festival was just beginning so we decided it was time for a canal walk and what a lovely walk it was. The festival displays were located along the Herengracht and began at the Amstel and ended right next to another of our favorite bars, the Arendsnest. So feeling quite buzzed after the Katsu and the Gollem 2 a nice canal walk was definitely in order. The lights on and over the canals was truly a sight to see. My favorites were the Talking Heads and the manuscript. Because this was on display the entire time we were there, the Herengracht was obviously our canal of choice during our vacation.

We made it to the Arendsnest in the nick of time as my bladder was shouting at me half the way up the canal. This always seemed to be the case on that walk as there really were not any convenient places to stop along the Herengracht and definitely too upscale for a urinoir! Feeling relieved (pardon the pun), we settled into a nice table at the rear of the café and ordered a couple of Jopen Stouts. These taste like floats and take about 5 minutes to pour from the tap but well worth the wait. And at only around 5% they fit the bill as we needed a break from the heavier stuff at that time. It felt just great to be in this beautiful bar. Great place to meet both locals and tourists and everyone seemed to share our passion for good beer and of course this wonderful city.

Getting pretty hungry as it was almost 9 pm we decided to make a quick stop back at the apartment to drop off our purchases from the market and then over to the Thaise Bird for dinner. As always, their food was yummy and hit the spot. No after dinner stops tonight as we had a pretty full day and just wanted to relax at the apartment so that's just what we did!